Remo was Portuguese citizen when given Padma Shri: Lawyer

Panaji, Dec 23 (IANS) Pop star Remo Fernandes received a Padma Shri in 2007 but he became a Portuguese citizen nearly 14 years earlier, the lawyer of a teenage girl who was allegedly verbally abused by the musician said on Wednesday.

“I have documents that reveal that Remo acquired Portuguese citizenship on May 21, 1993 while he was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007,” lawyer Aires Rodrigues said.

Remo, who is currently in Europe and has been booked by Goa Police on charge of verbally abusing the teenager after a car accident involving his son, made light of the charge.

Officials at north Goa’s Agacaim police station said they had asked the Foreigners Regional Registration Office of Goa Police whether a third summon to Remo can be issued through the Indian embassy in Lisbon.

“We are checking the matter,” Superintendent of Police V. Gupta said.

Goa was a colony of Portugal till 1961, when the Indian army liberated the state. The Portuguese government gives citizenship to ethnic Goans, whose parents were born in Portuguese-held Goa.

As per the first information report filed by Aires Rodrigues on behalf of the girl, Remo verbally abused her on December 3 at the Goa Medical College ward in Bambolim, near here, where she was hospitalised for treatment of injuries sustained in the accident.

The FIR was filed under the Goa Children’s Act, a special legislation specifically dealing with crimes against children in Goa.

The police on Wednesday questioned Remo’s son Jonah for his alleged involvement in the road accident on December 1, in which the 17-year-old girl was injured.